Hi S.! I just have to say congratulations on your soon to arrive baby and I'm so happy that you're considering using cloth on your baby. There are so many benefits to baby, the earth and your pocketbook when using cloth. I only wish more people would try it before knocking it!
I've been cd'ing my son since he was one week and he is now 18 months old. I love it and feel terrible whenever I use a disposable (I use seventh generation when I do use them). I have also used a variety of cloth diapers and have had lots of experience with trial and error. Here are a couple of websites that I found helpful when I was pregnant and trying to figure out what was what with the many choices in cloth. The first website, is Karen's cloth diapering site and she has a great dictionary of the different types of diapers, how to wash and how to fold: http://diaperpages.com/index.php. The next website I recommend is www.diaperpin.com. This website is great because it has reviews on almost every brand of diaper so you can see what other moms think of each brand, etc. If you are going to wash yourself, you should also check out these websites for ratings on detergent http://pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm and http://www.diaperjungle.com/detergent-chart.html.
I love bumgenius for ease (fits and goes on just like a disposable), but they are pricey. I also like Fuzzi bunz and Happy Heiny's, but they are also fairly expensive. One of the other moms suggested diaperswappers.com and I think its a great resource so you can get cheaper diapers and experiment with what will work best for your family. For a newborn, you will probably want a fitted diaper with a cover like prowraps or bummis. Prowraps are great at holding in newborn explosive poos and a fitted underneath will provide extra insurance against blowouts. In my experience, blowouts are just a part of having a newborn and no diaper, disposable or cloth, will hold them in everytime. When my son started eating solids, a pocket diaper with a synthetic fabric worked great because the poop rolls right off of it into the toilet (no one likes to dunk the diapers). I now use pockets at night for extra absorbency and a mix of chinese prefolds, fitteds and AIO's with my son. If you are planning on washing yourself, you will probably need about 36 diapers for washing every two days with a newborn. After a few months, you will do less changes and won't need quite so many. You will also need two diaper pail liners (one for the wash and one to use), one small wetbag for your diaperbag, and if you are using cloth wipes, you'll probably want about 36. If you decide to use prefolds, you will want a couple snappi fasteners (they are so much safer than pins) and about 8-12 covers for a newborn. If you have any other questions, please feel free to email me.
Good luck!
-H.